This invention relates generally to medical imaging systems, and more particularly, to a detector for an x-ray imaging system.
A computed tomography (CT) imaging system includes an x-ray source that generates x-rays. These x-rays are passed through a patient's body. The x-rays, after passing through the body of the patient, are absorbed by one or more x-ray detector modules. An x-ray detector module detects the x-rays and generates electrical signals corresponding to the intensity of the x-rays. The electrical signals generated by the x-ray detector module are fed into a Data Acquisition System (DAS), which combines the electrical signals and converts them from an analog to a digital form. The data generated by the DAS is then transmitted to an image reconstructor, which creates and displays an image of the patient's anatomy.
Each x-ray detector module includes a multi-cell array of detector elements. Each detector element includes a scintillator cell and a photodiode. The scintillator cell absorbs the x-rays generated by the x-ray source and emits visible light proportionate to the intensity of x-rays absorbed. The detector elements used in CT systems generate a high amount of noise. The high amount of noise affects a quality of the image produced by the CT system.